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The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Rising sea levels are exposing hundreds of landfill sites and leaking their toxic contents into surrounding areas. The government published a major environmental improvement plan, or EIP, for England. It sets out ambitious targets promising to restore nature and improve the environmental quality of air, water and land. But is this blueprint ambitious enough? Will it really be able to halt and reverse the dire environmental outlook and restore our green and pleasant lands?

This week the government published a major environmental improvement plan for England. It has pledged that every household will be within a 15-minute walk of green space or water, the restoration of 1.2m acres of wildlife habitat, and that sewage spills will be tackled with upgrades to wastewater treatment works. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, about the state of nature in the UK, what this plan promises to do, and whether it’s ambitious enough to halt and reverse damage done.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod